Calls for radical action to curb record drug deaths in Scotland

Addiction experts are calling for radical measures to tackle a crisis in fatal drug overdosing in Scotland, as they predict more than 1,000 drug-related deaths this year, the highest ever recorded.

17 Oct 2018

As the Scottish government prepares to launch its new alcohol and drugs strategy in November, the first in a decade, frontline service workers told the Guardian that politicians have not grasped the scale of the problem.

Although delegates at the SNP conference on Monday resoundingly supported the provision of a drug treatment room in Glasgow – where addicts can inject safely under supervision – campaigners say the issue has become a political wrangle about Westminster intransigence, as the legislation needed to enable such rooms is reserved. In reality, a consumption room is unlikely to affect large numbers of users: even in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, a room would serve a population of 500 or so.

SSDP2019: The Global Students for Sensible Drug Policy Conference will bring more than 400 student members, alumni, and supporters to the Chicago area from March 29-31 for our annual gathering featuring: